Staten Island student exposes bottle cap hoax

Pupils comprising the Giving Tree Roundtable at PS 46, South Beach, are sadder but wiser in respect of bottle cap hoax.

It seemed too good to be true: Parts of their trash would provide valuable treatment for cancer patients.

It turned out it was.

Students at PS 46 in South Beach were thrilled when they learned that for every 1,000 plastic bottle caps they sent to a charity, a child with cancer would get chemotherapy treatment. In fact, they set up collection buckets right away.

But fourth-grader Jennifer D'Erasmo thought something seemed fishy. So she went home and logged onto the computer with her mother to do some research.

"We went on Yahoo! and we typed in bottle caps and charity and we found out it was a hoax," said Jennifer, who is a member of the school's Giving Tree Roundtable, a group of 25 students who raise money for charities each year. "I felt shocked."

The students at PS 46 aren't the only ones on Staten Island to have fallen for the hoax: Collection boxes were spotted at St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School in Huguenot, St. Clare's School in Great Kills and several doctors' offices. The hoax has also spread through other states, raising the ire of residents in communities across the country.

The American Cancer Society has confirmed the program was false and a message has been placed on the organization's Web site.

"Our credibility is one of our strongest resources," said Dom Cappuccilli, a spokesman for ACS. "And if anyone is concerned about something, they should take a look at our Web site or Google it just to see what people are saying."

Cappuccilli said the origin of the hoax remains a mystery, but that he believes word spread through a chain e-mail.

Meanwhile, Aveda, a company that offers hair care and beauty products, has started a recycling program that would reuse the caps for its own bottles. The students at PS 46 have already collected hundreds of caps and are planning to send them to Aveda.

While they're glad their hard work won't go to waste, the youngsters and staff at PS 46 said Wednesday they are still flummoxed.

"Everybody did it thinking it was a good thing and no one really had any doubts," said Pat Gigante, a fifth-grade teacher. "People usually question the bad things, not the good things."

Nonetheless, the staff and students said learning about the hoax has only energized them more.

"Though I was very disappointed by it, I was also ecstatic because children at our Roundtable are taught not to take anything for granted and they listened and went home and did the research," said Susan Tasso, who coaches the Roundtable.

The students are still planning to donate $1,000 -- which they raised through the fall Penny Harvest -- to three local charities. And, as an additional project, they plan to write letters to other schools and organizations across the borough to warn them about the bottle-cap hoax.

"We try to teach them they have a voice," said Principal Angela Maffeo. "Even as children, we tell them they have the power to get things done."